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Arash (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Arash the Archer is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian oral tradition and folklore.
The basic story of the bowman runs as follows: In a war between the Iran
ians and the non-Iranians
(in post-Sassanid tradition frequently identified with the Turan
ians) over the "royal glory" (khwarrah
), the General Afrasiab
has surrounded the forces of the righteous Manuchehr
, and the two sides agree to make peace. Both reach an agreement that whatever land falls within the range of a bow-shot shall be returned to the Manuchehr and the Iranians, and the rest should then fall to Afraisab and the Aniranians. An angel (in al-Biruni it is 'Esfandaramad', i.e. the Amesha Spenta Ameretat
, MP
Spendarmad) instructs Manuchehr to construct a special bow and arrow, and Arash is asked to be the archer. Arash then fires the specially-prepared arrow at dawn, which then traveled a great distance (see below) before finally landing and so marking the future border between the Iranians and the Aniranians.
In Talebi and Balami, Arash is destroyed by the shot and disappears. In al-Tabari, he is exalted by the people, is appointed commander of the archers and lives out his life in great honor. The distance the arrow travels varies: in one it is thousand leagues (farsakhs), in another forty days walk. In several, the arrow traveled from dawn to noon, in others from dawn until sunset. A few sources specify a particular date for the event. The Middle Persian Mah i Frawardin notes the 6th day of the 1st month (i.e. Khordad
of Frawardin
); later sources associate the event with the name-day festivities of Tiregan
(13th of Tir
) "presumably" provoked by the homonymity with the Yazata
Tir
or tir "arrow."
The location from which Arash fired his arrow varies as well. In the Avesta (which does not mention places in Western Iran), it is 'Airyo.khshaotha', a not-further identified location in the Middle Clime. Islamic-era sources typically place the location of the shot somewhere just south of the Caspian Sea
, variously in Tabaristan (Tabari, Talebi, Maqdesi, ibn al-Atir, Marashi); a mountain-top in Ruyan
(al-Biruni, Gardizi), Amul
fortress (Mojmal), Mount Damavand
(Balami) or Sari
(Gorgani). The place the arrow landed is variously identified as 'Mount Khvanvant' in the Avesta (likewise an unknown location); a river in Balkh
(Tabari, al-Atir); east of Balkh (Talebi); Bactria
/Tokharistan (Maqdesi, Gardizi); the banks of the Oxus River (Balami) or Merv
(Mojmal). According to al-Biruni, it hit a nut tree between "Fargana" and Tabaristan "in the furthest reaches of [Greater] Khorasan
."
The name Arash remains of the most popular names among Iranians.
) appear to have considered 'Arash' to be the origin of the name 'Arshak' (i.e. Arsaces
), the name of the Parthian dynasty derives from a Parthian-
or Eastern Iranian
equivalent of 'Ardashir', i.e. 'Artaxerxes', specifically Artaxerxes II, who the Arsacids claimed to descend from. (Within the scheme of the mythologically-conflated genealogies of Iranian dynasts, the Arsacids also claimed to descend—via the other Arash—from Kai Kobad).
As is typical for names from oral tradition, there are numerous variations of 'Arash'. In the Avesta
the name appears as 'Erekhsha' (Ǝrəxša) "of the swift arrow, having the swiftest arrow among the Iranians" (Yasht
8.6). This Avestan language
form continues in Zoroastrian Middle Persian
as 'Erash' (Bundahishn, Shahrastanha-i Eran, Zand-i Vahuman Yasht, Mah i Frawardin), from which the anglicized 'Eruch' derives. New Persian and Arabic
forms include 'Erash' and 'Irash' in al-Tabari
and ibn al-Atir; Aarashshebatir in al-Tabari; 'Arash' in al-Talebi; 'Aarash' in Maqdesi, Balami, Mojmal, Marasi, al-Biruni
, and in the Vis o Ramin of Gorgani. Names with a stock epithet representing the Avestan "swift arrow" include al-Tabari's 'Aarashshebatir' and Mojmal's 'Arash-e Shewatir'. A surname form includes 'Arash/Aarash kaman-gir' "Arash, bow-expert."
, contemporary Iranian poet , wrote the long poem of Arash the Archer in 1959 .This epic narrative, based on ancient Persian myth, depicts Arash's heroic sacrifice to liberate his country from foreign domination.
The basic story of the bowman runs as follows: In a war between the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ians and the non-Iranians
Aniran
Anīrān or Anērān is an ethno-linguistic term that signifies "non-Iranian" or "non-Iran." Thus, in a general sense, 'Aniran' signifies lands where Iranian languages are not spoken...
(in post-Sassanid tradition frequently identified with the Turan
Turan
Tūrān is the Persian name for Central Asia, literally meaning "the land of the Tur". As described below, the original Turanians are an Iranian tribe of the Avestan age. As a people the "Turanian" are one of the two Iranian peoples both descending from the Persian Fereydun but with different...
ians) over the "royal glory" (khwarrah
Khvarenah
' or ' is an Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aiding the appointed. The neuter noun thus also connotes " royal glory," reflecting the perceived divine empowerment of kings...
), the General Afrasiab
Afrasiab
Afrasiab is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan.-The Mythical King and Hero:According to the Shahnameh , by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran...
has surrounded the forces of the righteous Manuchehr
Manuchehr
Manūchehr , older Persian Manōčihr, Avestan Manuščiθra, is a character in Shahnameh. He is the first of the legendary Shāhs who ruled Iran after the breakup of the world empire of Manūchehr's great-grandfather, Fereydūn....
, and the two sides agree to make peace. Both reach an agreement that whatever land falls within the range of a bow-shot shall be returned to the Manuchehr and the Iranians, and the rest should then fall to Afraisab and the Aniranians. An angel (in al-Biruni it is 'Esfandaramad', i.e. the Amesha Spenta Ameretat
Ameretat
' is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian divinity/divine concept of "not dying." As the hypostasis of immortality, Ameretat is the Amesha Spenta of long life on earth and perpetuality in the hereafter....
, MP
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
Spendarmad) instructs Manuchehr to construct a special bow and arrow, and Arash is asked to be the archer. Arash then fires the specially-prepared arrow at dawn, which then traveled a great distance (see below) before finally landing and so marking the future border between the Iranians and the Aniranians.
In Talebi and Balami, Arash is destroyed by the shot and disappears. In al-Tabari, he is exalted by the people, is appointed commander of the archers and lives out his life in great honor. The distance the arrow travels varies: in one it is thousand leagues (farsakhs), in another forty days walk. In several, the arrow traveled from dawn to noon, in others from dawn until sunset. A few sources specify a particular date for the event. The Middle Persian Mah i Frawardin notes the 6th day of the 1st month (i.e. Khordad
Haurvatat
Haurvatat is the Avestan language word for the Zoroastrian concept of "wholeness" or "perfection." The hypostasis of that concept is the divinity Haurvatat, who is the Amesha Spenta of water , prosperity, and health....
of Frawardin
Fravashi
A fravashi is the guardian spirit mentioned in the Avesta of an individual, who sends out the urvan into the material world to fight the battle of good versus evil...
); later sources associate the event with the name-day festivities of Tiregan
Tiregan
Tiregân also known as Jashn-e Tiregân is an ancient Iranian festival coinciding with the mid summer festivals. -Overview:...
(13th of Tir
Tishtrya
Tishtrya is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Modern Persian...
) "presumably" provoked by the homonymity with the Yazata
Yazata
Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept. The word has a wide range of meanings but generally signifies a divinity...
Tir
Tishtrya
Tishtrya is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility. Tishtrya is Tir in Middle- and Modern Persian...
or tir "arrow."
The location from which Arash fired his arrow varies as well. In the Avesta (which does not mention places in Western Iran), it is 'Airyo.khshaotha', a not-further identified location in the Middle Clime. Islamic-era sources typically place the location of the shot somewhere just south of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, variously in Tabaristan (Tabari, Talebi, Maqdesi, ibn al-Atir, Marashi); a mountain-top in Ruyan
Royan, Iran
Royan is a city in the Central District of Nur County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 6,339, in 1,708 families. Royan is located on the Caspian Sea....
(al-Biruni, Gardizi), Amul
Amol
Amol is a city in and the capital of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 197,470, in 55,183 families.Amol and the old part of town is the first of the four towns that populate the world in which there is Nzamyh...
fortress (Mojmal), Mount Damavand
Mount Damavand
Mount Damāvand also known as Donbavand, a potentially active volcano and the highest peak in Iran, has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore...
(Balami) or Sari
Sari, Iran
Sari is the provincial capital of Mazandaran and former capital of Iran , located in the north of Iran, between the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and southern coast of the Caspian Sea...
(Gorgani). The place the arrow landed is variously identified as 'Mount Khvanvant' in the Avesta (likewise an unknown location); a river in Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
(Tabari, al-Atir); east of Balkh (Talebi); Bactria
Bactria
Bactria and also appears in the Zend Avesta as Bukhdi. It is the ancient name of a historical region located between south of the Amu Darya and west of the Indus River...
/Tokharistan (Maqdesi, Gardizi); the banks of the Oxus River (Balami) or Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
(Mojmal). According to al-Biruni, it hit a nut tree between "Fargana" and Tabaristan "in the furthest reaches of [Greater] Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
."
The name Arash remains of the most popular names among Iranians.
Origins of the name
Although several sources (e.g. al-BiruniAl-Biruni
Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
) appear to have considered 'Arash' to be the origin of the name 'Arshak' (i.e. Arsaces
Arsaces
Arsaces is the eponymous Greek form of the dynastic name adopted by all epigraphically attested rulers of the 'phil-hellenenic' Arsacid dynasties. The indigenous Parthian and Armenian form was Arshak....
), the name of the Parthian dynasty derives from a Parthian-
Parthian language
The Parthian language, also known as Arsacid Pahlavi and Pahlavanik, is a now-extinct ancient Northwestern Iranian language spoken in Parthia, a region of northeastern ancient Persia during the rule of the Parthian empire....
or Eastern Iranian
Eastern Iranian languages
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times .The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. The largest living Eastern Iranian language is Pashto, with some 50 million speakers between the Hindu Kush mountains in...
equivalent of 'Ardashir', i.e. 'Artaxerxes', specifically Artaxerxes II, who the Arsacids claimed to descend from. (Within the scheme of the mythologically-conflated genealogies of Iranian dynasts, the Arsacids also claimed to descend—via the other Arash—from Kai Kobad).
As is typical for names from oral tradition, there are numerous variations of 'Arash'. In the Avesta
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
the name appears as 'Erekhsha' (Ǝrəxša) "of the swift arrow, having the swiftest arrow among the Iranians" (Yasht
Yasht
The s are a collection of twenty-one hymns in Younger Avestan. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. Yasht chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as Yt....
8.6). This Avestan language
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
form continues in Zoroastrian Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
as 'Erash' (Bundahishn, Shahrastanha-i Eran, Zand-i Vahuman Yasht, Mah i Frawardin), from which the anglicized 'Eruch' derives. New Persian and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
forms include 'Erash' and 'Irash' in al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
and ibn al-Atir; Aarashshebatir in al-Tabari; 'Arash' in al-Talebi; 'Aarash' in Maqdesi, Balami, Mojmal, Marasi, al-Biruni
Al-Biruni
Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-BīrūnīArabic spelling. . The intermediate form Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī is often used in academic literature...
, and in the Vis o Ramin of Gorgani. Names with a stock epithet representing the Avestan "swift arrow" include al-Tabari's 'Aarashshebatir' and Mojmal's 'Arash-e Shewatir'. A surname form includes 'Arash/Aarash kaman-gir' "Arash, bow-expert."
Modern legend
Siavash KasraieSiavash Kasraie
Siavash Kasraie was an Iranian poet....
, contemporary Iranian poet , wrote the long poem of Arash the Archer in 1959 .This epic narrative, based on ancient Persian myth, depicts Arash's heroic sacrifice to liberate his country from foreign domination.